FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, March 9, 2007

Democratic Party Dumps FOX

Edwards, Reid, grassroots Democrats praised for principled stand against right-wing Fox; NV Democratic Party praised for making the right choice.

FoxAttacks.com/MoveOn.org petition had over 265,000 signatures; “Fox Attacks: Obama” video had over 280,000 views on YouTube

Today, the NV Democrat Party decided to drop a FOX-sponsored debate scheduled for August, following FOX President Roger Ailes remarks last night comparing Barack Obama to Osama Bin Laden.

“We hope this sets a precedent for all Democrats – that FOX should be treated as a right-wing misinformation network, not legitimized as a neutral source of news,” said Eli Pariser, Executive Director of MoveOn.org Civic Action. “John Edwards, Harry Reid, the Nevada Democratic Party, and grassroots progressives across the nation deserve credit for standing up to Fox’s right-wing agenda.”

John Edwards had announced he would not attend the Fox debate—and yesterday Nevada Senator Harry Reid sent shockwaves through his home state when he said publicly, "I don't like Fox."

Over 265,000 people signed a petition stating, “FOX is a mouthpiece for the Republican Party, not a legitimate news channel” and urged that Fox be dropped. Over 280,000 people had viewed Outfoxed director Robert Greenwald’s new YouTube film “Fox Attacks: Obama” – located with the petition at www.FoxAttacks.com.

Fox critics have urged NV Democrats to pick a legitimate news source to host the August debate.

“This is a victory for truth and journalism,” said Greenwald. “By standing up to FOX’s right-wing smears, the patriotic grassroots, netroots, Senator Reid, Senator Edwards, and the Nevada Democrats have all worked together to protect one of the most important elements of a free society – the press. Having spent years studying the lies and distortions of Fox, I am proud to have worked with all the partners in creating FoxAttacks.com as a home for integrity, honesty, and exposing this right wing mouthpiece.”

Members of the public can sign up at www.FoxAttacks.com to participate in future Fox accountability campaigns.

Danny Coyle, one of thousands of MoveOn members in Nevada, is on the Executive Board of the Carson City Democratic Central Committee. This Wednesday, he offered a resolution calling on the state party to drop FOX – it passed overwhelmingly among the grassroots Democrats in attendance.

“I am glad and relieved that the Nevada Democratic leadership has come to its senses,” Coyle said. “Any kind of relationship with FOX is bad for the party.”

“The lies of FOX News and Roger Ailes have no place in public discourse, journalism, or the Democratic Party presidential debates,” said Matt Stoller, president of Blogpac, who wrote about this issue on national progressive blog www.MyDD.com, “FOX sees truth as the enemy, and misinformation as a tool to hurt their political opposition.”

“I'm gratified to see that the Nevada State Democratic Party made the right decision and called out FOX News for being part of the right-wing smear machine,” said Myrna Minx, who wrote about this issue on Nevada progressive blog, www.RenoDiscontent.com. “Now let's start working on making the upcoming caucus a success and finding a legitimate news outlet to broadcast our August debate.”

MoveOn.org Civic Action is a 501(c)(4) organization which primarily focuses on nonpartisan education and advocacy on important national issues. MoveOn.org Political Action is a federal political committee which primarily helps members elect candidates who reflect our values through a variety of activities aimed at influencing the outcome of the next election. MoveOn.org Political Action and MoveOn.org Civic Action are separate organizations.